Furniture



F. W. IVICARDLE.

FURNITURE.

APPLICATJON FILED JUNE 4. |918.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l- Patented June 10, 1919.

F. w. MCARDLE.

FURNITURE.

APPLICATION FILED )UNE 4. 191B.

Patented June 10, 1919.

8 l' I ZL 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

FRED W. MCARDLE, BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

FURNITURE.

specification of Letters patent. 'Patented June 10, 1919,

Application tiled .Tune 4, 1918. i Serial No. 238,090.

T 0 all 'ichom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRED IV. McARDLii, a citizen of the United States, residing at Boston, in the county of Suffolk andvState i of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Furniture, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to furniture and par# ticularly to furniture of that class that is made up of'adjustably connected parts so that it can be converted from an article of furniture of one kind to an article offurniture of another kind.

The object of my invention is to provide an article of furniture of the class described, and particularly, to provide an improved structure of simple and advantageous construction which can be adjusted into the form of either a chair or a couch.

To these ends my invention consists of a convertible article of furniture of the character described having the peculiar features of construction and mode of operation set forth in the following description and particularly pointed out and defined in the claims at the close thereof.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure l is a central longitudinal sectional view of a chair constructed in accordance with my invention.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of a portion of the chair shown in Fig. 1. Y

Fig. 3 is a partial front view of the chair shown in Fig. -1 with the back thereof in upstanding position. Y

j Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional detail of the front portion of the chair shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4 but showing the parts in other positions. f f

Fig. 6 is a front elevation of some of the parts shown in Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is a detail, in plan, of some of the parts shown in Fig. 4.

Figs. S and 9 are sectional details illustrating the construction and operation of the back portion of the chair.V y

Herein I have shown my invention as embodied in a chair of that type known as a Morris chair, and as comprising a rectangular seat frame consisting of a front bar 1, a rear bar 2, and two side bars 3 and 4. These four bars are fastened at their end s to four upright posts 5 whose lower portions rest upon the floor and serve as legs, and4 whose upper portions have secured to them the side arms 6. The side .arms 6 are provided at their rear ends, as usual, with racks 7 to receive the end portions of a removable back supporting rod 8.

The back of the chair comprises a rectangular wooden frame consisting of two sidebars, one of which is-shown at 9, and two end bars 10 secured at their ends to the ends of the side bars.V rlhis back frame is pivotally connected with the rear cross-bar 2 of the seat frame by hinges 11 and can be swung on said hinges into the horizontal position shown by full lines in Fig. 1, or into an upstanding rearwardly inclined position where it may be secured by the removable rod 8, the position of the latter on the racks 7 determining the angle of inclination of the back.

Near each end of the back frame 9-10 there is a cross-bar 12 and to these two crossbars are fastened the opposite ends of a wire mattress 13 which supports an upholstery mattress or cushion 14. Within the seat frame 1, 2, 3, 4 are arranged cross-bars 15 and 1G fastened at their ends to the side bars 1 and 3 of said seat frame. These bars 15 and 16 support springs 17 which in turn support an upholstery mattress or cushion 18.

In carrying out one feature of my invention I provide each side bar 9 of the back frame with a leg 19 having one end thereof pivotally connected with its side bar as at 20. To each leg 19 is pivotally connected one end of a slide bar or rod 21 arranged within the back frame alongside of the adjacent side bar thereof and supported near its middle by a lug 22 projecting from said side bar, through which it loosely extends. The opposite end 23 of rod 21 extends through a hole in the cross-bar 10 hinged to bar 2 of the seat frame so that it is supported against lateral movement. Mounted upon the rod 21 isa spring 24 abutting at one end against a collar 25 fast on rod 21. Spring 24 acts through collar 25 to yield ingly urge rod 21 endwise toward the seat frame so that when the back frame occupies either of its upstanding positions the inner end 23 of said rod, see Fig. 7, projects beyond the cross-bar 10 of the back frame, the spring 24 acting through said rod to hold the leg 19in retracted inoperative position within the back frame as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 1, where it is out of sight and out of the way. When the back is lowered to its horizontal position as shown by full lines in Fig. 1, the end 23 of rod 21 comes against the cross-bar 2 before the downward movement of the back 1s completed and during the last portion of said movement after the rod has thus been brought into engage-V ment with said cross-bar, the rod is moved endwise relatively to the back toward the pivot 20thereby swinging the leg on said pivot into a perpendicular position .relatively to the back frame so that its lower end rests upon the Hoor.

As Amea-ns for automatically locking lthe leg in its perpendicular operative position when the back is vthus lowered I provide two links 26 and 27 connected at 28 by a knuckle joint and pivroted, respectively, to the leg 19 and side b ar 9. lVhen the leg 19 occupies the position indicated by dotted lines 1n Fig. 1 the two links 26 and 27 occupy positions within the back frame and alongside of each other but are free to swing apart into their leg locking positions as the leg Ais swung outwardly during the lowering movement of the back. lVhen the back yis swung upwardly from its horizontal position the leg 19 may remain locked in its projected position by the links with spring 24 under compression, but after placing rod 8 in position on its racks 7, a slight tap on .the links 26 and 27 opposite the knuckle joint 2 8 releases .the leg which is immediately thrown inwardly by spring 24 actingthrough rod 21, into its retracted position .within the back frame. 'i

Aswill be clear, the automatically operating means just described for supporting the outer end of the back when the latter occupies its lowermost, or horizontal, position is of such construction .that it can be applied, if desired, as an attachment to the ordinary Morris chair now in common use, .thereby rendering the latter convertible into a couch.

It has-been proposed to constructor provide al Morris `chair with a foot vrest adjustably connected with the seat of the chair s o that it can be shifted back and forth and occupy either an operative position forward, or in frontof, the seat or an inoperative position beneath said seat. My present invention contemplates a foot rest of this kind but one which also can be adjusted into a second operative position at the front end of the seat to serve as an elevated head ,support or pillow. To this end I provide a slide 29 beneath the chair seat supported by .two channel irons 3.0 secured .to the Aunder sides of the cross-bars 1 and 16 of the seat frame.

This slide 2 9 -has an extension piece or section 31 'pivotally 'connected with its forward end p by hinges 32, said section 31 being adapted to be ladjusted on said hinges so as to loccupy a position on top of the forward end ofy slide 29 as shown in Figs. 1 and 4, or

f V.-' to be swung forward into the position shown in Fig. 5. -Section 31 carriesa pivoted latch 33 extending through a hole 34 formed in A32, the plurality of teeth on said latch providing for different angular positions of the section 31relatively to slide 29 as will be clear by reference to the dotted lines in Fig.

l. This latch 33 is necessary for the reason that there is a preponderance of weight (on section 31 forward of pivot Vhinges 32 when To one side of the section 31 is secured a metal bracket 35 and to one V,end vof this bracket is pivotally connected, as at 37, a `foot and head rest 36. The opposite end of the foot and head, rest is shown in Fig. 1 as supported by a prop 33 which in turn is supported at its lower `end by a slotted arm 39 projecting forwardlyfrom, vand integral with, the base portion 4of the bracket 35; The prop 38 is pivotally connected withthe under ,side yof vthe rest 36 and-occupies the slot of the arm 39, said prop being formed with the studs 43 and 44 cooperating with lugs 40 and 41 projecting from the arm Vinto the slot 4thereof. lllhen the rest 3 6 occupies operative position either as a head rest or as afoot rest, the section 31 is imposition upon the top of the front end of the slide 29 as in Fig. 1.

section 31 occupies the full kline position in To adjust the rest so as to serve,

as an elevated head rest the front side,there of is swung upwardly on 4the pivot 37 and the prop 33 placed in'position with either studs 43 or resting on the lugs 41so that the forward s ide -of the Arest is held elevated by the prop well above the plane. of the chair seat. TolCl'just the rest 3,6 so as .to serve as a foot rest the prop 3 8l is swung rearwardly on its pivot to permit the forward side of the rest Ato be lowered onto the arm 39, said prop then occupying the position in the slot shown in Fig. 4. Vith the rest in ,this position it can be. adjusted forwardly and rearwardly to position it vas vdesired relatively to the 36 under the chair sean-the engagement vof the free end of the prop38 withthe underside of slide 29 together with the vengagemeru; of the studs 43 with lugs 40, will serve to hold the rest 36 againstn swinging downwardlv on pivot 37, while the cross-bar lracts tb hold section 31 against being lifted on pivot" hinges 32. In other words, the prop 38 cooperates with the lugs 41 to support the rest 36 at the desired height when the'rest is in operative position, and with lugs ll() and the under side of the slide 29 to holdthe rest snugly up againstthe arm 39 when the rest is swun under said slide into its inoperative position. When the rest occupies this inoperative position the slide 29 can be shoved inwardly to place the rest under the seat as will be clear.

An ornamentally shaped laterally extending bar 446 of wood may be secured to the free end of the section 31 to cover or hide most of the `parts of the head and foot rest device when the latter occupies its retracted inoperative position shown in Fig. 5.

l/Vhat I claim is:

l. A chair of the character described, having in combination, a seat; legs connected with said seat; a back adjustably connected with said seat; a slide movably mounted beneath said seat; an extension for said slide pivotally connected with the forward end thereof so as to provide for .its being swung forward into inoperative position in front of the end of the slide or backward into operative position on top of said slide; a restpivotally connected near one side thereof to said extension, and means adjustably connecting the other side of the rest with said extension, said means serving also to hold said rest against swinging downward on its pivot when said extension occupies its inverted inoperative position in front of said slide.

2. A chair of the character described, having in combination, a seat; legs connected with said seat; a back adjustably connected with said seat ;V a slide movably mounted beneath said seat; an extension for said slide pivotally connected with the forward end thereof so as to provide for its being swung forward into inoperative position in front of the end of the slide or backward into operative position on top of said slide; a rest pivotally connected near one side thereof to said extension, and means adjustably connecting the other side of the rest with said extension, said means also engaging the slide to hold said rest against swinging downward on its pivot when said extension occupies its inverted inoperative position in front of said slide.

3. A chair of the character described, having in combination, a seat; legs connected with said4 seat; a back; a slide movably mounted beneath said seat; an extension for said slide pivotally connected with the forward end thereof so as to provide for its being swung forward into inoperative position in front of the end of the slide or backward into operative position on top of said slide; a rest pivotally connected near one side thereof to said extension, and a prop-latch pivotally connected with said rest and adjustably engaging said extension to support the opposite side of the rest, said proplatch engaging the slide so as to hold the rest against swinging downward on its pivot when the extension occupies its inverted inoperative position.

4. A chair of the character described, having in combination, a seat; legs connected with said seat; a back; a slide movably mounted beneath said seat; an extension for said slide pivotally connected with the for` ward end thereof so as to provide for its being swung forward into inoperative position in front of the end of the slide or backward into operative position on top of said slide; a rest pivotally connected near one side thereof to said extension; a prop-latch pivotally connected with said rest and adjustably engaging said extension to support the opposite side of the rest, and another latch for adjustably holding said extension in operative position above said slide against the eifects of downward pressure on the rest.

5. A chair of the character described, having in combination, a seat; legs connected with said seat; a back; a slide movably mounted beneath said seat; an extension for said slide pivotally connected with the forward end thereof so as to provide for its being swung forward into inoperative position in front of the end of the slide or backward into operative position on top of said slide; a bracket arm projecting forward from said extension when the latter occupies its operative position on top of said slide,

signature.

FRED W. MCARDLE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington. D. C. 

